Editing Union army (section)

===Ordnance Department===
{{main|United States Army Ordnance Corps}}
The principal mission of the Ordnance Department (ORDD) during the Civil War was the development, procurement, storage, distribution and repair of all army [[List of weapons in the American Civil War|ordnance]] and ordnance-related equipment such as [[limbers and caissons]] and [[accoutrements]].  It was also responsible for the procurement of horses to pull artillery until June 1861 when the Quartermaster Department took over that job.  The department faced challenges during the war, particularly during the early months as it struggled to arm the vastly expanded Union army whilst traitorous forces seized control of a number of arsenals and depots.  Eventually it was able to resolve many of these challenges and succeeded in providing thousands of [[field artillery]] pieces and millions of [[small arms]] for the Union army.<ref name="Eicher64"/><ref>Newell & Shrader, page 119</ref><ref name="USAL200">United States Army Logistics (1997), pages 199–200</ref>

When the Civil War began the Ordnance Department was commanded by a Chief of Ordnance and authorized forty officers, many in command of the army's arsenals and depots; fifteen ORDD military storekeepers; seventy [[ordnance sergeant]]s, often placed in supervisory roles including command of some depots and arsenals; and four hundred enlisted men, most of whom were employed as technicians at the armories and arsenals.  Hundreds of civilians were also employed, not only as clerks and laborers but also technicians and supervisors.  There were also [[Armed-forces artificer|artificiers]] on the rolls of the army's artillery regiments who were responsible for the maintenance of weapons within their regiments.<ref name="Newell127">Newell & Shrader, p. 122-127</ref>

Even in peacetime the size of the ORDD was insufficient, as fifty-six officers alone would've been required to bring the arsenals to their full authorized strength, and it proved inadequate once the war began.  In August 1861 Congress increased the authorized number of officers to forty-five: the Chief of Ordnance (brigadier general), two colonels, two lieutenant colonels, four majors, twelve captains, twelve first lieutenants, and twelve second lieutenants.  This still was not enough, and so in March 1863 an additional lieutenant colonel, two majors, eight captains and eight first lieutenants were added, bringing the authorized strength to sixty-four officers where it would remain for the rest of the war.  The number of ordnance sergeants and enlisted personnel were similarly increased on a yearly basis, until by 1865 they numbered 163 and 560 respectively, and the civilian staff was likewise increased.<ref name="Newell127"/>

In the field, each regiment was authorized an ordnance officer (to be chosen from among the unit's lieutenants) who, assisted by an ordnance sergeant, saw to the requisition and issuing of arms to the troops and management of the regimental ammunition [[Train (military)|train]]. For brigades and higher echelons of command, an ordnance officer was authorized to serve on the unit's staff with similar responsibilities. However unlike with the other supply departments, the ordnance department did not commission any volunteer officers to this role, instead relying on ORRD officers or (at division level and below) relying on regular officers filling the role as acting ordnance officers or combining the role with the assigned quartermaster.<ref name="Newell127"/>

The ORDD maintained a number of arsenals, armories and depots, where the majority of the army's arms, ammunition and other ordnance-related supplies were manufactured and/or stored. A number were seized before or at the war's outbreak, but more were created after fighting began and existing ones were expanded. By the middle of the war, the largest arsenals employed between one and two thousand civilians each. A substantial number of these employees were women and children, partly because they could be paid less than adult male workers, their small hands were thought to be better suited to assembling [[Cartridge (firearms)|cartridges]], and women were believed to be more safety-oriented.  Their line of work was dangerous for obvious reasons, and a number died in accidental explosions during the war. In the single-worst accident of the war, the [[Allegheny Arsenal#Explosion|explosion at the Allegheny Arsenal]], 70 of the 78 victims were women and girls.<ref name="Newell127"/>

{|class="wikitable" style="display: inline-table;" 
! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;" |Name
! style="text-align:l center; background:#acc;" |Location
! style="text-align:l center; background:#acc;" |Established
! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;" |Notes
|-
|+United States Arsenals, Armories and Depots<ref name="Eicher64">Eicher, p. 63-64</ref><ref>Beers, H. P., Munden, K. W. (1998). The Union: A Guide to Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War. Washington: National Archives and Records Administration. p. 284-287</ref><ref>Newell & Shrader, p. 124</ref>
|-
|[[Springfield Armory]]
|[[Springfield, MA]]
|1794
|Principal US Army armory
|-
|[[Harpers Ferry Armory]]
|[[Harper's Ferry, WV|Harper's Ferry, VA]]
|1796
|Destroyed April 1861, seized by [[Confederate States Army|CSA]] 
|-
|[[Allegheny Arsenal]]
|[[Pittsburgh, PA]]
|1814
| 
|-
|[[Watervliet Arsenal]]
|[[Watervliet, NY]]
|1814
| 
|-
|[[Champlain Arsenal]]
|[[Vergennes, VT]]
|1816
|Discontinued 1855, reestablished 1861
|-
|[[Frankford Arsenal]]
|[[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, PA]]
|1816
|
|-
|[[Rome Arsenal]]
|[[Rome, NY]]
|1816
|
|-
|[[Bellona Arsenal]]
|[[Richmond, VA]]
|1816
|Discontinued 1835, seized by Virginia April 1861
|-
|[[Washington Arsenal]]
|[[Washington, D.C.]]
|1816
|
|-
|[[Watertown Arsenal]]
|[[Watertown, MA]]
|1816
|
|-
|[[Pikesville Arsenal]]
|[[Pikesville, MD]]
|1819
|
|-
|[[Augusta Arsenal]]
|[[Augusta, GA]]
|1826
|Seized by Georgia militia January 1861
|-
|[[Baton Rouge Arsenal]]
|[[Baton Rouge, LA]]
|1826
|Seized by Louisiana militia January 1861
|-
|[[Kennebec Arsenal]]
|[[Augusta, ME]]
|1827
|
|-
|[[St. Louis Arsenal]]
|[[St. Louis, MO]]
|1827
|
|-
|[[Mount Vernon Arsenal]]
|[[Mount Vernon, AL]]
|1829
|Seized by Alabama militia January 1861
|-
|[[Detroit Arsenal (Dearborn)|Detroit Arsenal]]
|[[Dearborn, MI]]
|1832
|
|-
|[[Apalachicola Arsenal]]
|[[Apalachicola, FL]]
|1833
|Seized by Florida militia January 1861
|-
|[[Governors Island#Mid-19th century and Civil War|New York Arsenal]]
|[[Governors Island]], [[New York (state)|NY]]
|1836
|
|-
|[[Fayetteville Arsenal]]
|[[Fayetteville, NC]]
|1836
|Seized by North Carolina militia April 1861
|-
|[[Little Rock Arsenal]]
|[[Little Rock, AR]]
|1837
|Seized by Arkansas authorities February 1861
|-
|[[Fort Monroe|Fort Monroe Arsenal]]
|[[Old Point Comfort]], [[Virginia|VA]]
|1838
|
|-
|[[Charleston Arsenal]]
|[[Charleston, SC]]
|1841
|Seized by South Carolina militia December 1860
|-
|[[Fort Leavenworth|Leavenworth Arsenal]]
|[[Leavenworth, KS]]
|1847
|
|-
|[[Benicia Arsenal]]
|[[Benicia, CA]]
|1851
|
|-
|San Antonio Arsenal
|[[San Antonio, TX]]
|1855
|Seized by Texas militia February 1861
|-
|[[Fort Vancouver National Historic Site|Vancouver Arsenal]]
|[[Fort Vancouver]], [[Washington (state)|WA]]
|1859
|
|-
|[[Fort Union National Monument|Fort Union Arsenal]]
|Fort Union, [[New Mexico|NM]]
|1860
|
|-
|Louisville Depot
|[[Louisville, KY]]
|1861
|
|-
|Nashville Depot
|[[Nashville, TN]]
|1862
|
|-
|[[Columbus Arsenal]]
|[[Columbus, OH]]
|1863
|
|-
|Indianapolis Arsenal
|[[Indianapolis, IN]]
|1863
|
|-
|[[Rock Island Arsenal]]
|[[Rock Island, IL]]
|1863
|
|-
|}

The ORDD faced an immediate crisis when the war began as it was suddenly responsible for arming the rapidly-expanding number of troops being brought into Federal service. This job was made more difficult by actions taken by Secretary of War [[John B. Floyd]] before the war, when he ordered the transfer of large numbers of arms from Northern to Southern arsenals and the sale of Federal arms to various Southern states.<ref name="Newell135">Newell & Shrader, pages 127–135</ref>  When the Southern states did seize the arsenals within their territory, in addition to the gun-making equipment at Harper's Ferry they were able to acquire about 159,000 small arms, 429 cannons, and 4.5 million rounds of small arms ammunition.<ref name="USAL200"/>  ORDD was forced to make up the immediate shortfall by contracting with private companies or purchasing from European powers; many weapons bought under contract proved to be inferior to government standards or sold at inflated prices, while European governments were happy to get rid of their obsolete weapons.  Eventually the fraud and corruption was brought under control and ORDD was able to bring its arsenals' productions levels up to where they could meet the army's need. This can be seen with the rapid expansion of the Springfield Armory, which before the war averaged 800 muskets a month but by January 1863 was producing 24,000 muskets and rifles a month.<ref name="Newell135"/>

A more persistent issue faced by ORDD were efforts by members of Congress, the general public, and even President Lincoln to get them to adopt many new military technologies, particularly [[breechloader|breech-loading]] and [[repeating rifle]]s like the [[Spencer repeating rifle|Spencer]] and [[Henry rifle]].  The department's senior leadership was unwilling to wholeheartedly embrace this technology without extensive field testing, and worried over delays from retooling manufacturing equipment and other logistical concerns that went with their adoption.  Nevertheless, a limited number of these weapons were purchased and distributed to troops in the field, and trials were undertaken to determine which one would become the army's standard rifle for general use, although these weren't completed until well after the war ended.<ref name="Newell135"/>

After the war ORDD came under harsh criticisms, particularly over their conservatism in regards to new technology.  However it did meet the challenge of equipping the Union army with many modern weapons and other materiel.  From the beginning of the war to the end, Federal arsenals produced 7,892 cannons with over six million artillery [[Shell (projectile)|shot and shell]] and six million pounds of [[grapeshot]] and [[canister shot]]; more than 4 million small arms with over a billion rounds of small arms ammunition; over 13,000 tons of gunpowder and 45,000 tons of lead; and nearly 3 million complete sets of infantry and cavalry accoutrements and horse equipment.<ref name="Eicher64"/><ref name="Newell135"/>

;Leadership
[[Henry K. Craig]] was the Chief of Ordnance when the Civil War began, having served in that position since 1851.  Craig received much of the blame for the poor state of affairs at the time, and angered many special interests by resisting the purchase of new and untested weapons in favor of increasing arsenal production and limiting purchases to reputable domestic and international sources.  His obstinate behavior saw Craig relieved and replaced with [[James Wolfe Ripley]] on April 23, 1861.  However Ripley was similarly resistant to these same private contractors and their Congressional backers, particularly with adopting breech-loading rifles, and so was forced to retire on September 15, 1863.  His replacement, [[George D. Ramsay]], was more open to the new weaponry but did not have the confidence of Secretary Stanton, who inserted Captain George T Balch into Ramsay's headquarters to "call the shots".  Ramsay endured this situation until forced to retire on September 12, 1864. [[Alexander Brydie Dyer]] took over as Chief of Ordnance and served out the remainder of the war heading the department. While resistant to the lobbyists like his predecessors, Dyer was a more enthusiastic proponent of breech-loading and repeating rifles. He was also more bureaucratically adept and able to remain on good terms with Secretary Stanton.<ref>Newell & Shrader, pages 109–110</ref>